Client:  Mrs H                                              Date:  September 2016
Mrs H was referred for the Launch Pad Extra programme. Mrs H explained that she wanted to attend courses but was unable to since she does not claim benefits. I told her that she could benefit from the programme as she was eligible to attend even though she was not claiming any benefits. The programme aims to help clients to gain employability skills whilst recognising their personal strengths and skills. I also explained that as a part of the course she could benefit from attending yoga classes to improve her mental and physical wellbeing. 

During the IAG meeting Mrs H opened up straight away and told me that she really wanted to improve her confidence, which she somehow lost as she has never had a real job. 

Mrs H explained that she was out of work for a long period and had limited work experience and no work-related references; so I stated that she would clearly benefit from attending the voluntary work placement as part of the programme. I then discussed with her what outcomes we would expect from the overall programme with the main objective of getting her into employment. The outcomes would focus on rebuilding her confidence, providing her with the necessary soft skills that most employers nowadays expect coupled with building on her existing experiences/skills, how to prepare for an interview, building a CV, overcoming barriers, and gaining some relevant work experience.

I arranged for Mrs H to attend mentoring sessions where we discussed the importance of realising how the skills and strengths Mrs H has gained whilst at school and college, from being a mother and by supporting her husband in the family business can be built upon.

I offered life coaching sessions to Mrs H and explained how it could support her in realising her goals and benefit from in growing her confidence, which was a priority for her. After just a few sessions with the life coach, Mrs H showed a significant improvement in her confidence.

With her renewed confidence Mrs H told me that she enjoyed helping her peers in the class and that she encouraged them to believe in themselves as she does now. I suggested Mrs H considers life coaching as a possible career opportunity and she instantly showed a keen interest. I wanted to be sure that Mrs H understood the whole concept of life coaching; for that reason I arranged her work placement as an assistant life coach hoping the work experience will give her an insight of the job role and an opportunity to manage her personal, home and work expectations. This work placement gave Mrs H an opportunity to shadow a qualified and experienced life coach both during individual as well as group sessions.

I requested feedback on behalf of Mrs H from the life coach and the feedback was encouraging. On one occasion, when the life coach was on annual leave, I requested Mrs H to deliver the lesson whilst I observed her. She did well and took the lesson in a very professional manner meeting every client's needs. I also took the opportunity to take feedback from the clients and 94% of the clients responded positively.

Mrs H stated that she felt very positive and has finally got a goal she wants to work towards. Her goal was to become a life coach, which I stated was a very good idea. I explained the importance of realising the commitment both financially and in time that she would need to put in. I also explained that along with the qualification she needs to understand the responsibility and the element of confidence, and knowledge the job role requires. Once satisfied that Mrs H understood the core aspects of the Life Coaching course, we discussed the importance of researching various life coaching qualifications. I then requested the life coach to meet Mrs H on a one to one basis and guide her towards the most appropriate qualification. 

She has now enrolled on a life coaching course and would like to volunteer as a life coach assistant to allow her to put her newly learned skills in practice. I spoke to my director and he agreed to help Mrs H by contributing to the course fee.

Client:  Rita Lala                                              Date:  March 2016

Rita Lala moved to the United Kingdom from Portugal in 2014. With the aim of improving her spoken and written English, she enrolled onto an RUTC funded ESOL course at ATN Southall in March of 2015. When she first joined the class, she had limited English skills. Her teacher’s support and her continued presence in the classes allowed her to develop strong and effective communication skills.
By the conclusion of the course, she had participated in the universal job match activity, had gained an accredited qualification. In addition to all of those, she also updated her CV, attended innumerable interviews and worked on increasing her low self-esteem levels. This all contributed to boosting her employment prospects for the future.

The course culminated in her achieving the ESOL Entry 3 S&L certificate and with her gaining a job in a pharmacy. This means that at present, she is building up her customer service skills, and is excelling in her chosen sector.

Client:  Lisa Holt                                              Date:  Dec 2014

Lisa Holt was on Ingeus Work Programme which started on: 15/7/14. Lisa was always enthusiastic and energetic and wanted to get back into employment but lacked confidence and self-esteem. She was very well spoken and presentable, but her biggest barrier was interviews.
She attended a few mock-interview sessions, cold calling and dropped her CV's around different retail outlets in her area as advised. This helped her and she started feeling a bit more positive about herself. Her attitude changed and was visible. An interview was arranged at Skyex as a customer service / telephonist. She passed the first stage of the interview and was then offered a 3 day trial period. She passed her trial period and was offered employment which suited around her childcare needs too.She is currently still working with Skyex and feels this job has changed her life. She feels more confident and feels that this job changed her life.

Client:  Najih Hussein                                           Date:  Jan 2015

Najih Hussein had been on Ingeus Work Programme since 5/6/14. As the programme progressed, client started feeling more positive. He felt that he was ready to be out there and make a life for himself.

He started to realize his barriers and was ready to get help to overcome them. The thought of having to present himself in an interview room was his biggest barrier. He attended quite a few mock interviews. After dealing with issues such as self-esteem and anxiety client felt much more motivated and confident.

He found employment as a carer for someone, who is severely disabled. He is still in employment and feels this job has changed his outlook towards life. He is more sociable and feels confident. He also feels that he is making a difference by helping someone.

Client:  Neil Hamilton                                         Date:  September 2014

Mr Neil Hamilton was referred on the G4S Community Work Placement Programme on the 27/08/2014 and was looking to continue to pursue a career in Finance & Accounting.
Neil had previously worked as a Treasury Accounts Assistant for 2 years for an International Oil Supply Company before unfortunately being made redundant when they closed the London office. Neil had then applied for many jobs but found the market to be saturated.
ATN had an Accounts Vacancy in its Southall Centre as one of its staff had left. A Work Placement was then arranged for Neil on the 29/09/14 to work in ATN’S Accounts department as he had previous qualifications and experience.
Neil excelled in his Work Placement and was then offered to start permanent full-time employment from the 24/11/14 after coming back from a holiday.
“I am grateful for the support ATN have given me whilst on the CWP Programme and importantly having the confidence to employ me in a full-time role”

Name:  Narinder Mudhar                      Date: April 2015

NARINDER STARTED A 6 MONTH PLACEMENT IN JULY 2014 WITH ACDA SKILLS TRAINING, A LOCAL TRAINING PROVIDER AS PART OF COMMUNITY WORK PLACEMENTS PROGRAMME.

Narinder really impressed the placement host whilst undertaking the role of voluntary teaching assistant, helping adults with English and basic IT skills.

ACDA Skills Training recognised Narinder’s potential, and invested a lot of time in her to ensure that she was able to undertake the relevant accredited teaching courses in order to enhance her personal development and help her gain the necessary skills and qualifications for a paid role.

Vic Virdee, Narinder’s placement host, also helped her to prepare for her driving theory test, which she has now passed! She is very grateful for the help and support she received in order to achieve this. Narinder has now been offered a permanent part-time role for 16 hours a week as a receptionist at Saluja Clinic, a doctor’s surgery based in Southall.

She happily accepted this role and is pleased to have worked with Vic Virdee and her other colleagues at ACDA Skills Training and would like to thank ATN for all of their support.